


In the Time of Quarantine

by ALovelyLitwit



Category: Roswell New Mexico (TV 2019)
Genre: COVID19, Fluff, Forced Proximity, Happy Ending, M/M, Quarantine, a bit of angst but that's not the point ultimately
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-20
Updated: 2020-05-22
Packaged: 2021-03-03 05:40:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,048
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24289843
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ALovelyLitwit/pseuds/ALovelyLitwit
Summary: The first stay-at-home order has hit Roswell and Michael comes a knock, knock, knocking at Alex's door. They are supposed to be taking things slow, but maybe the universe has another plan in mind.
Relationships: Michael Guerin/Alex Manes
Comments: 32
Kudos: 202





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I will work on this as time allows during Alex's long three week hiatus. How will their quarantine progress??? I honestly have no clue. Should be interesting.

**Quarantine Day One**

Alex watched the news as the first stay at home order went into effect. He couldn’t believe that on top of all the other shit he and his friends were dealing with they’d now have to add global pandemic to the list. Maybe they all needed an Earth escape plan.

Opening his laptop, Alex began the action plans he needed to have completed before Monday. The USAF was obviously considered essential during the crisis, and so he’d have to continue working. But it was the first time in a long while he felt grateful to be in the Air Force. Getting to spend his time working hands on in his community of people - being an actual first responder serving and protecting - made him feel good. Like finally the military was something he could be proud of. Maybe. Hopefully.

Nearly an hour later, Alex had fallen down the rabbit hole of researching PPE resources and didn’t hear the familiar engine pull into his driveway. The knock at his door, however, caught his attention. Frowning, he wondered who could possibly be at his door breaking the quarantine order within the literal first hour. His thoughts wondered to his elderly neighbors who lived half a mile down the street and liked to bring him fresh vegetables from their garden. He made a mental note to check on them as he headed to answer his door.

To say he was surprised to see Michael Guerin wouldn’t have been completely true. He’d have been a top five guess – perhaps even top three. What was surprising, though, was the battered duffel bag hanging from his once mangled hand. 

‘Going somewhere, Guerin?’ Alex raised an eyebrow and cut his eyes toward the bag.

‘Yeah, here. Listen, Alex. I cannot quarantine alone so I hope you’re happy having a roommate.’ Alex moved out of the way as Michael barged through the doorway headed straight for his living room. Closing the door, Alex leaned his forehead against the cool wood and took a deep breath. He and Michael had promised to take things slowly – very, very slowly – and living together was not that. Living together was time travel.

Alex walked after Michael trying to formulate as moderate a response as possible in his head. ‘Listen, Guerin…’

‘I know, Alex. I should have called first and asked. But I didn’t. Because I don’t want you to say no. Please don’t say no.’ Michael wouldn’t maintain eye contact, dragging his eyes across the floor instead. 

Alex stayed put several feet away, unwilling to move any closer. Any closer and he wouldn’t be physically capable of saying no. ‘Why can’t you quarantine alone?’

‘Well, I mean, I can quarantine alone. It’s you I’m worried about actually. So.’ He shrugged his shoulders and finally found the courage to look Alex in the eye. 

‘Me? Guerin, I’m fine. Work is going to keep me more than busy. I don’t need a babysitter.’ Alex was super confused and a little miffed that Michael didn’t think he could handle a little self-isolation. ‘And I shouldn’t have to remind you that we promised to take this – you and me – slow. Like glacial slow. Forced proximity is a trope I’m not sure we’re ready for just yet.’

Michael’s forehead furrowed. ‘Trope? This isn’t fiction, Manes. And I’m not trying to force anything. I’m just worried because this is so new. What if with all this quiet time you get too far inside your own head and decide to go from slow to a dead stop? We might be stuck inside for weeks – months even. Can the super slow me and you thing survive that?’

Alex clenched his jaw. ‘You think I’m going to walk away again? Jesus, Guerin. We’ve had this conversation a million times in the past few weeks. I’m not going anywhere. Why can’t you trust me? I’ve spent the past year trying to prove I’m here. Forever, Guerin. Not even a relationship with my best friend or a fucking pandemic is going to push me away anymore.’ 

Silence draped around them. Alex felt the tension spread across his shoulders. Michael stood across from him still holding that stupid duffel bag. It felt like some high noon standoff. But gayer.

Michael sucked his bottom lip into his mouth, licked said lip, and exhaled. ‘I do trust you, Alex. Really. I guess I’m just scared. And in the past I would have gone out and gotten shit-faced or started a bar fight to piss you off or said something dumb to push you away. I thought this time instead of a push I’d try pulling you closer. It’s stupid. I’m sorry. I’ll leave.’ It was the exact honesty Alex had asked of him. He moved back down the hallway towards the front door.

‘Wait, Michael.’ Sighing deeply, Alex followed him and grabbed his arm to turn him around. ‘You can stay.’

‘Yeah?’ 

‘Yeah.’ Alex gave him a small smile. ‘But there are rules, Guerin.’

‘Anything. I’ll be so good. I promise.’ Michael’s smirk looked more like a cat who’d finally caught that pesky little canary and Alex began to worry that perhaps Michael wasn’t telling the whole truth concerning his intentions. But frankly, Alex didn’t much care. Michael healthy, happy, and safe in his home instead of that cold, lonely trailer was something he should have thought of first. 

‘You sleep in the guest room unless invited otherwise. We’re still taking this slow. And no breaking quarantine just because Isobel asks you to. I can’t risk getting sick and infecting anyone else. I still have to work.’ Alex reached down and grabbed the bag from Michael’s hand and if his fingers lingered a little longer than necessary on the rough, warm skin of Michael’s calloused fingers – well then – so be it. ‘And no walking around naked.’ 

‘Yes, sir.’ Michael smiled so softly, so lovingly at him that Alex could barely maintain eye contact as he felt a blush creep across his cheeks. He was screwed and he knew it. 

This was going to be the longest quarantine of his life.


	2. Quarantine Day Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's their first lock down morning together and Michael is craving an omelet.

**Quarantine Day Two**

Five o’clock Sunday morning found Alex bent back over his laptop finishing his second cup of coffee. He knew Michael wasn’t a morning person so didn’t expect to see him so early in the morning, but when ten rolled around and still no Michael, he got worried. His traitorous brain began to see flashes of a shadowed Guerin sneaking out in the middle of the night never to return. Could he have screwed this up already? His heart rate began to increase.

Grabbing his crutch, Alex nervously made his way toward the front window. He braced himself to find Guerin’s truck missing from his driveway, but as he peeked out of the blinds the familiar shape of Michael’s beat up Chevy stood just where he’d left it. Alex closed his eyes and sighed, offering a little prayer of thanks to whomever might be listening.  
‘What are we looking at?’ Alex gave a little jump as Michael sidled up behind him, wrapping his arms around Alex’s stomach and pulling his body flush against his own. 

‘You slept in so late I began to wonder if you’d disappeared like a ninja in the night.’ Alex put his hands over Michael’s and leaned into Michael’s excessive alien warmth as he felt his lips brush against his neck.

‘Ten is not late. Not all of us keep military time. Maybe one day I can convince you to stay in bed a little longer. Although seeing you first thing in the morning light is something I could get used to.’ He kissed up Alex’s neck, placing a loud, sloppy kiss on his cheek just as his stomach rumbled. Alex laughed as Michael turned towards the kitchen. 

Alex settled back at his dining room table as he began to hear the tell-tale signs of Michael poking through his cabinets for whatever breakfast he hoped to make. Frustrated, put-upon sighs began to accompany his search and Alex smiled to himself, sneaking little glances over his shoulder of Michael standing on his tip-toes reaching up to the highest shelves only to come up empty. Alex enjoyed the way his t-shirt rode up ever so slightly showing off a tease of skin. ‘Looking for something, Guerin?’

‘Where is your omelet pan?’ Every single cabinet door was ajar.

‘Omelet pan? Really? You see all the pans I’ve got. Just use one of those.’

‘You have exactly one pan in these cabinets, Manes. One. And it’s ginormous. Too big for an omelet.’ Michael tossed the offensive pan back onto a random shelf with a huff.

‘Well, that’s okay because I also don’t have any eggs.’

‘WHAT?’ Michael opened the refrigeration to confirm that there were, in fact, no eggs. ‘Jesus, Alex. There’s nothing in here. Just a jar of peanut butter - which, why is that even in the fridge?’ Michael sounded disgusted and slightly frantic as he rescued the peanut butter from certain death. ‘What the hell did you eat this morning?’

Alex grinned at him. ‘Toast with cold peanut butter.’

Michael eyes widened and he pulled out his phone. ‘You know what? It’s okay. Just remain calm, Guerin. You can fix this.’ Michael began madly typing with his thumbs. ‘I’ll swing by the airstream to pick up whatever I have leftover in the fridge and then head to the grocery store for anything I don’t already have. Let me just make a list.’

‘You don’t have to grocery shop for me.’ Alex was more than enjoying this slightly manic version of Michael.

‘Oh, I’m not. I’m grocery shopping for me. This entire fucking kitchen is an affront to humanity and you should be ashamed. How did you manage to make that pasta last night?’ Michael continued furiously typing into his phone.

‘That was my world famous kitchen sink pasta. I just threw everything I had left into a pot and called it dinner.’ 

Michael put his phone in his pocket and pulled up a chair beside Alex. Grabbing his hand, Michael stared deeply into his eyes and muttered, ’Don’t worry, Alex. I will save you. I’ve arrived just in time. We can still fix this and bring honor back to this house.’

Alex laughed affectionately, swatting his hand away. ‘You’re such an idiot.’

‘A starving idiot.’ Michael smiled back at him and leaned in for a slow, lingering kiss. ‘I’m not sure you deserved that, but I did so. Text me if you think of anything we might need.’ 

Alex furrowed his eyebrows. ‘Hey, wait. You need to wear a mask.’

Michael turned back to him. ‘You know it’s highly unlikely that I can even get the coronavirus, Alex. We’ve never caught any human illnesses before.’

‘I know, but this is different and we can’t be sure. Liz is doing the research. But until she has definitive results, I need you safe. Masks are in the hall closet – top shelf.’ Alex was using his Captain Manes voice and Michael knew better than to argue. 

Grinning widely, Michael jogged back to Alex, kissed his forehead, his nose, his cheek, and whispered, ‘Yes, sir,’ before turning back to leave again. 

Alex watched him pull on his jacket and grab one of the surgical masks Alex had brought home with him from work. Michael raised the mask in his hand and asked, ‘Happy now?’.

‘Very. Thank you.’ Michael moved to leave and Alex decided to take a little risk. ‘Oh, hey, Guerin,’ he tossed over his shoulder.

‘Yeah?’

‘Maybe grab some lube while you’re out. You know. Just in case.’ Alex faced his laptop again, grinning smugly to himself. He was met with a heavy silence that lasted a little too long. He could almost feel the unresolved sexual tension radiating off Michael. Alex had been no-nonsense about them not simply returning to their old patterns of escapist sex.

‘I’ll…I’ll think it about.’ Alex detected the slightest hint of a waver in his voice but also a bit of a challenge.

‘You definitely do that, Guerin. Enjoy.’ Alex laughed as he heard Michael close the door behind him. 

Quarantine was turning out better than he’d expected.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!


	3. Quarantine Day Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alex comes home after a long, hard day. Michael is waiting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Like Alex, I also had a terrible work day. Love being my own inspiration, lmao. The thing I want most for Malex is these simple, sleepy little moments between two people who have loved each other for so, so long. They deserve a relationship that is soft and comfortably lived-in. Do you hear me, universe?

**Quarantine Day Three**

Alex’s day had been long and filled with endless meetings. Stuck on base all day talking ceaselessly about supply lists, testing sites, and internal safety procedures. He was put on no fewer than three separate task forces to help provide a seamless transfer from in-office work to teleworking measures. The amount of panicked troubleshooting in his future was already giving him a stress headache. The only bright moments had been silly emoji texts from Guerin that were seemingly nonsensical but made him smile anyway. He supposed that was the point.

After twelve long hours he was beyond relieved to climb into his dusty Explorer and head home. To a homecooked meal, his shower, his bed. But to Michael most of all. Pulling his phone out of his pocket he opened their running text stream and typed ‘on my way’ smiling like an idiot who had struck gold and finally got to go home to the love of his life at the end of the day. Maybe he’d invite Guerin into his shower for a very handsy – or mouthy – rub down. He almost felt guilty for being so happy in the middle of such crisis and uncertainty. 

The short drive home was uneventful. The sun sank beyond the desert horizon as it always did. So much was changing so quickly, but other things would always remain constant. He’d cracked the window and let the evening chill run through his hair and dance along his skin soothing the parts of him that hated being cooped up all day. Pulling into his driveway, he was surprised to find all his porch lights lit and the sounds of music drifting through the night air. He recognized the song immediately – _First Day of My Life_ by Bright Eyes. Their song. Alex smiled to himself and closed his eyes suddenly transported right back to New Roswell High and the beautiful curly-haired boy who had changed his life forever.

_Remember the time you drove all night  
Just to meet me in the morning?  
And I thought it was strange, you said everything changed  
You felt as if you'd just woke up  
And you said “This is the first day of my life  
I’m glad I didn’t die before I met you  
But now, I don’t care; I could go anywhere with you  
And I’d probably be happy”_

A sharp knock on his window yanked Alex from his daydream as he glanced over to find a grinning Michael Guerin hands full of beer and burger. ‘I made dinner. I thought we could eat outside. The stars are supposed to be super clear tonight.’ He leaned forward and placed a kiss to the dirt streaked window without a care in the world and then jogged back towards the porch. Watching him bounce away, Alex felt dizzy with love for this silly puppy of a man. Heart full to bursting.

Climbing out of the truck, he followed Michael, limping a little from stiff joints and a fairly new prosthetic. He found Michael halfway through his first helping and eagerly gesturing towards the second place setting right next to his own. Alex sat down gingerly in the cushioned chair, letting out a little sigh as he rubbed his right knee. Michael noticed immediately and put his burger down to replace Alex’s hands with his own. 

‘Let me do that. You eat.’ 

And so he did. The burger was beyond delicious – another little thing he’d learned in these first few days of confinement. Michael wasn’t just a decent cook; he was magnificent. Alex nearly moaned in delight with every bite he took which he could tell Michael was thoroughly enjoying. Meanwhile, his knee and the muscles in his thigh were pleasantly numb under the ministrations of Michael’s talented fingers. He didn’t even comment when Michael’s hands strayed a little too far north. He simply allowed himself to enjoy his boyfriend’s hands on him. 

‘Is there chorizo in this?’ Alex asked between bites.

‘Yep. My little secret. Do you like it?’

‘I think it’s pretty obvious that I do.’ Michael reached up and wiped away a bit of grease from Alex’s bottom lip and then sucked the grease off his thumb without breaking eye contact. Alex swallowed hard. ‘You keep that up and we’re not going to see a single star tonight.’

Michael chuckled warmly and went back to his own dinner. For the next 15 minutes they ate in companionable silence with the soft sounds of 90s music floating all around them. Neither could remember a better night – not in a long, long while.

Alex finished eating and settled back into his chair, finally opening his own beer. ‘So what did you do all day?’

‘Spent most of the day towing abandoned cars out of that old lot on Highway 84. Sanders decided that was more of a ‘Michael activity’. I’m pretty sure he spent the day watching his favorite soaps with a bottle of whiskey.’

‘Sheriff Valenti wants to stage a testing site there, right?’

‘Yeah. Seems like a pretty decent idea. They’ve been asking for volunteers so I thought I might help out some. Probably means I’ll be spending more time than necessary with one Dr. Valenti. But I’ll risk it.’ Michael finished the rest of his beer and returned his hands to Alex’s knee.

‘This world doesn’t deserve you, Guerin.’

‘Maybe not, but you do.’ Michael closed the distance between them and kissed him softly. Then he reached down and dragged Alex - chair and all - as close to him as physically possible. ‘You were too far away.’

‘Yeah?’

‘Yeah.’ Michael laid his head back against his chair, sighed contentedly, and closed his eyes - blissful and at peace.

‘Michael?’ Alex grabbed his hand and pulled it into his lap.

‘Hmm?’

‘Look at me, please.’ Michael turned his head toward him, brow slightly furrowed, but eyes open and trusting.

Alex smiled at him and smoothed his creased forehead with a thumb. ‘I love you.’

Michael’s face softened. ‘I love you, too.’

Alex had been right. They didn’t see a single star that night.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Let me know if you like the idea of this continuing!!
> 
> I'm @litwitlady on Tumblr.


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